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International Journal of Quantum Information

Ti/Au TES AS SUPERCONDUCTING DETECTOR FOR QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES

L. Lolli, G. Brida, Ivo Pietro Degiovanni, Marco Gramegna, E. Monticone, Fabrizio Piacentini, Chiara Portesi, M. Rajteri, Ivano Ruo Berchera, E. Taralli, P. Traina

Published Jan 1, 2011• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Single photon detectors are fundamental tools for quantum metrology, e.g. to calibrate both detectors and sources, as for quantum information. One of the most promising detectors able to resolve single photons is the transition-edge sensor (TES). We report our last results obtained with Ti/Au TES deposited on SiN substrate. Photon counting measurements, obtained by using pulsed sources, in the NIR-visible wavelength range, show the ability to resolve up to fourteen photons with an energy resolution of 0.44 eV at 690 nm (1.80 eV) and 0.38 eV at 1310 nm (0.95 eV), with a good linearity. A preliminary measurement obtained by using a parametric down conversion (PDC) heralded single photon source, at 812 nm (1.53 eV), is also reported.

DOI
10.1142/s0219749911007022

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NCimC•Jul 1, 2008•2 citations
Single photon detectors are fundamental tools for quantum metrology, e.g. to calibrate both detectors and sources, as for quantum information. One of the most promising detectors able to resolve single photons is the transition-edge sensor (TES). We report our last results obtained with Ti/Au TES deposited on SiN substrate. Photon counting measurements, obtained by using pulsed sources, in the NIR-visible wavelength range, show the ability to resolve up to fourteen photons with an energy resolution of 0.44 eV at 690 nm (1.80 eV) and 0.38 eV at 1310 nm (0.95 eV), with a good linearity. A preliminary measurement obtained by using a parametric down conversion (PDC) heralded single photon source, at 812 nm (1.53 eV), is also reported.
Superconducting transition-edge sensors (TESs), working as single-photon detectors with high quantum efficiency, low dark count rate, and photon number resolving capability, have been successfully used in quantum information experiments as well as astronomical transient object observations. Aiming to achieve high count rate, we are developing titanium-based superconducting TES single-photon detectors with a critical temperature of ~300 mK. Ti-based TESs with active area from 10 × 10 μm to 40 × 40 μm are first fabricated on silicon substrate coated with SiOx. The fabricated TES devices show a thermal conductance scaling with the active area and an effective time constant of ~4 μs from pulsed laser diode illumination. In order to get high quantum efficiency, we further design and fabricate a 1550-nm optical cavity based on dielectric mirror and antireflection layer, and study its absorption with an IR spectrometer. Ti TES devices on the dielectric mirror are then fabricated and the superconducting transition is measured.
Transition-edge sensors (TESs) have shown the capability of both energy resolution and resolving photon numbers. In this work, we present the fabrication and characterization of high detection efficiency Ti optical TESs with the critical temperatureTc= 213 mK and the photon-number resolving capability at telecommunication wavelength 1550 nm. The Ti superconducting film is prepared by a DC magnetron sputtering technique. An optical cavity comprised of 5-layers antireflection and 15-layers high-reflection Ta2O5/SiO2is enclosed with the Ti film by an ion beam assisted deposition method to improve detection efficiency, which brings the absorption of 99.74%. The energy resolution for the Ti TES with sensitive area 20 μm × 20 μm is 0.45 eV and the detection efficiency is 97% ± 1%.
Transition-edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeters are promising for application in the field of quantum information and quantum computation thanks to their outstanding single photon detection capabilities. Good energy resolution and photon number discrimination at visible and near-infrared wavelengths make them extensively used as single photon detectors. In this work we report details on the fabrication of Pd/Ti TESs deposited by e-beam evaporation on silicon nitride substrates. We use Pd as alternative to Au layer thanks to its stronger influence on the Ti layer, that allows to obtain the same temperature reduction with thinner layers. The transition temperatures Tcof the devices range from 83 to 110 mK with a transition width DeltaTc=0.5 mK. Thermal and electric characteristics of Pd/Ti TESs at different temperatures and its capability as single photon sensor are reported.
We present results of the development of transition-edge sensors (TES) based on Mo/AuPd thermistors aiming for photon number resolution in the visible up to NIR wavelength. TES are deposited on an oxidized solid Silicon substrate and make use of electron-phonon decoupling at mK-temperatures generating a weak link for thermal relaxation. The Mo/AuPd bilayers have a tuned critical temperature of approximately 180 mK and are being read out by making use of a series SQUID array, both implemented in a setup in an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator. Optical pulses, generated via gated laser sources at room temperature, are fed via an optical single mode fiber to the TES. Their absorption is measured as a TES pulse response with a SQUID array. By means of pulse amplitude histograms (PAH), single photon resolution in the visible to NIR has been achieved. We've proven TES pulse response originating from single photon absorption in the TES via fitting the PAH with a Poissonian distribution. For 405 nm laser wavelength, we've achieved an energy resolution of about 0.7 eV, determined via analysis of the raw measurement data using PAH.
A transition edge sensor (TES) is one of superconducting photon detectors, which has a photon number resolving ability in light pulses. The TES device is a kind of calorimeters operated at an extremely low temperature, and the energy of the photons is measured as a resistance change in a superconducting transition region of the TES. The advantages of the TESs are an excellent energy resolution and a high quantum efficiency. However a response speed is limited due to slow thermal recovery time. To overcome this, we fabricated new TES devices which are based on a titanium superconductor. The critical temperature of our titanium films is around 410 mK, which greatly improves the thermal recovery time. The observed decay time constant of response signals to the light pulses is around several hundreds of ns, that make it possible to operate the devices at a counting rate over 1 MHz. The photon number resolving power is 0.35 eV(FWHM) for a 5 μm size device even at the high operating temperature. The system quantum efficiency is 65 % by embedding the TES films in an optical structure with a high reflection dielectric mirror and an anti-reflection coatings fabricated by an ion beam assisted sputtering method. These features are very promising for high speed photon number resolving applications in the quantum information field.
Transition-Edge Sensors (TESs) are microcalorimeters that measure the energy of incident single photons by the resistance increase of a superconducting film biased within the superconducting-to-normal transition. TES are able to detect single photons from IR to X-ray with an intrinsic energy resolution and photon-number discrimination capability. Metrology, astronomy and quantum \ncommunication are the fields where these properties can be particularly useful. In this work, we report about characterization of different TESs based on Ti films. Single photons have been detected from 200nm to 800 nm working at transition temperature Tc ∼ 100 mK. Using a pulsed laser at 690nm we have demonstrated the capability to resolve up to five photons.